II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5251 

To establish a pilot program to support domestic critical material processing, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. COONS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program to support domestic critical 

material processing, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Critical Materials Fu5 ture Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COUNTRY OF RISK.—The term ‘‘country of 

9 risk’’ has the meaning given the term in section 


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1 10114(a) of the Research and Development, Com2 petition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 18912(a)). 

3 (2) CRITICAL MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘critical 

4 material’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

5 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 

6 1606(a)). 

7 (3) DOMESTIC.—The term ‘‘domestic’’ means 

8 facilities operating within the United States or with9 in any territory or possession of the United States. 

10 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

11 project’’ means a project that refines and processes 

12 or recycles raw critical materials into purified forms 

13 suitable for first-use applications. 

14 (5) ENTITY OF CONCERN.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘entity of 

16 concern’’ has the meaning given the term in 

17 section 10114(a) of the Research and Develop18 ment, Competition, and Innovation Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 18912(a)); and 

20 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘entity of con21 cern’’ includes an entity that the Secretary has 

22 determined, using a risk-based approach, is 

23 subject to the control or influence of a foreign 

24 nation whose strategic interests concerning critVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Oct 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5251.IS S5251

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1 ical materials does not align with the strategic 

2 interests of the United States. 

3 (6) INNOVATIVE FINANCIAL TOOLS.—The term 

4 ‘‘innovative financial tools’’ means financial instru5 ments to support demand-side economic mecha6 nisms, including— 

7 (A) pricing support mechanisms, such as 

8 contracts for difference and price floors, ad9 vanced market commitments, and forward con10 tracts; and 

11 (B) other transactions that the Secretary 

12 may enter into under section 646 of the De13 partment of Energy Organization Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 7256). 

15 (7) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Pilot Pro16 gram’’ means the Domestic Critical Material Proc17 essing Pilot Program established under section 4(a). 

18 (8) RELIABLE SOURCES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘reliable 

20 source’’ has the meaning given the term in sec21 tion 12 of the Strategic and Critical Materials 

22 Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98h–3). 

23 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘reliable 

24 source’’ includes facilities owned by, controlled 


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1 by, or subject to the jurisdiction of any coun2 try— 

3 (i) with which the United States has 

4 a free trade agreement in effect; and 

5 (ii) designated a major non-NATO 

6 ally under section 517 of the Foreign As7 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321k). 

8 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of Energy. 

10 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

11 The purposes of this Act are— 

12 (1) to support domestic critical material proc13 essing with innovative financial tools to reduce sup14 ply chain vulnerabilities and enhance energy and na15 tional security; and 

16 (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of innovative fi17 nancial tools in supporting investment in and ex18 panding domestic critical materials processing, in19 cluding the impact of different support mechanisms 

20 on project development for various critical materials 

21 and fostering more liquid, transparent, and predict22 able markets for critical materials. 


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1 SEC. 4. DOMESTIC CRITICAL MATERIAL PROCESSING 

2 PILOT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es5 tablish a pilot program, to be known as the ‘‘Domestic 

6 Critical Material Processing Pilot Program’’, to support 

7 not fewer than 3 domestic critical material processing 

8 projects. 

9 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the Pilot Pro10 gram are— 

11 (1) to provide financial stability and attract pri12 vate investment in eligible domestic critical material 

13 processing projects; 

14 (2) to analyze how different financial tools in15 fluence critical material market dynamics and 

16 projects and the estimated level of financial support 

17 needed to secure reliable United States supply 

18 chains for various critical materials and support a 

19 sufficient domestic critical materials processing in20 dustry; and 

21 (3) to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities and 

22 enhance energy security and national security. 

23 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

25 (A) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 

26 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 


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1 the Secretary shall issue regulations to imple2 ment the Pilot Program. 

3 (B) OTHER TRANSACTION AUTHORITY.—In 

4 carrying out the Pilot Program, the Secretary 

5 shall have the authority to enter into other 

6 transactions in the same manner and subject to 

7 the same terms and conditions as transactions 

8 that the Secretary may enter into under section 

9 646 of the Department of Energy Organization 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 7256). 

11 (C) FLEXIBLE HIRING AUTHORITY.—The 

12 Secretary may appoint and fix the compensa13 tion of such temporary personnel as may be 

14 necessary to carry out and implement the Pilot 

15 Program, without regard to the provisions of 

16 subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 

17 States Code, governing appointments in com18 petitive service and compensation of personnel. 

19 (D) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 

20 consult outside stakeholders and experts, in21 cluding mining and critical material processing 

22 industry representatives, financial experts, and 

23 academic researchers, during development of 

24 the Pilot Program for purposes of improving 


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1 the effectiveness and efficiency of the Pilot Pro2 gram. 

3 (2) DIVERSITY.—The Pilot Program shall pro4 vide support for the processing of not fewer than 3 

5 different types of critical materials in order to gain 

6 insight into the impact of innovative financial tools 

7 on different critical material markets. 

8 (3) SUNSET.—The Pilot Program shall termi9 nate on the date that is not later than 5 years after 

10 the date the Pilot Program is established under sub11 section (a). 

12 (d) APPLICATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Applications under the Pilot 

14 Program for eligible projects shall be submitted to 

15 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

16 containing such information as the Secretary may 

17 require. 

18 (2) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall se20 lect applications under the Pilot Program for el21 igible projects based on— 

22 (i) the potential of the eligible project 

23 to enhance the energy and national secu24 rity of the United States; 


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1 (ii) the economic competitiveness of 

2 the eligible project; 

3 (iii) the prioritization requirements 

4 described in subparagraph (B); and 

5 (iv) other factors, as determined by 

6 the Secretary, in coordination with the 

7 agencies described in subsection (e). 

8 (B) PRIORITY.—In selecting applications 

9 under the Pilot Program for eligible projects, 

10 the Secretary shall prioritize eligible projects— 

11 (i) that use feedstock from domestic 

12 and reliable sources, with higher priority 

13 given to eligible projects that have greater 

14 use of feedstock from those sources; and 

15 (ii) the applicants of which have 

16 offtake agreements with domestic and reli17 able sources for at least a majority of their 

18 processed products. 

19 (3) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall select ap20 plications under the Pilot Program for eligible 

21 projects not later than 1 year after the date of en22 actment of this Act. 

23 (e) COORDINATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure the efficient im2 plementation and operation of the Pilot Program, 

3 the Secretary shall coordinate with— 

4 (A) the Secretary of Commerce; 

5 (B) the Secretary of Defense; 

6 (C) the Secretary of the Interior; 

7 (D) the Secretary of State; 

8 (E) the Director of the United States Geo9 logical Survey; 

10 (F) the United States Trade Representa11 tive; and 

12 (G) the heads of other Federal depart13 ments and agencies, as determined by the Sec14 retary. 

15 (2) SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP16 MENT.—When selecting applications and deter17 mining the level of financial support for each project 

18 under the Pilot Program, the Secretary shall coordi19 nate with the Secretary of Defense to incorporate in20 sights from the Open Price Exploration for National 

21 Security research and development program of the 

22 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. 

23 (f) STUDY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

25 the date on which the Pilot Program terminates 


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1 under subsection (c)(3), the Secretary shall conduct 

2 and publish a study on— 

3 (A) the impact of innovative financial tools 

4 on the critical materials sector and the relative 

5 cost-effectiveness of those tools in supporting 

6 domestic critical materials processing projects 

7 and developing more liquid, transparent, and 

8 predictable markets for critical materials; 

9 (B) the estimated level of financial support 

10 needed to secure reliable United States supply 

11 chains for various critical materials and support 

12 a sufficient domestic critical materials proc13 essing industry; 

14 (C) the potential of critical material recy15 cling to support the domestic critical materials 

16 market; 

17 (D) the effectiveness of the Pilot Program, 

18 including an evaluation of each eligible project 

19 supported by the Pilot Program; and 

20 (E) whether the models of the Open Price 

21 Exploration for National Security research and 

22 development program of the Defense Advanced 

23 Research Projects Agency allowed the Pilot 

24 Program to better anticipate market trends, op25 timize resource allocation, and provide the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Oct 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5251.IS S5251

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1 propriate level of support based on current and 

2 future critical material market needs. 

3 (2) INSIGHTS.—The study under paragraph (1) 

4 shall include insights into concerns of private inves5 tors in different critical material markets and the 

6 impact of innovative financial tools on catalyzing 

7 final investment decisions. 

8 (3) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—The study 

9 under paragraph (1) shall be carried out in consulta10 tion with relevant stakeholders, as determined by the 

11 Secretary, including mining and critical material 

12 processing industry representatives, financial ex13 perts, and academic researchers. 

14 (4) DARPA OPEN PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

15 shall share the results of the study under paragraph 

16 (1) with the Open Price Exploration for National 

17 Security research and development program of the 

18 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to in19 form ongoing research and development of tools to 

20 support transparency in domestic critical materials 

21 markets. 

22 (g) REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

24 to the Committees on Energy and Natural Re25 sources, Foreign Relations, and Armed Services of 


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1 the Senate, and the Committees on Natural Re2 sources, Energy and Commerce, and Armed Services 

3 of the House of Representatives, an annual report 

4 for each year that the Pilot Program is carried out. 

5 (2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph 

6 (1) shall include— 

7 (A) activities, expenditures, and outcomes 

8 of the Pilot Program; 

9 (B) recommendations to Congress on the 

10 continuation or expansion of the Pilot Program; 

11 and 

12 (C) recommendations for how the Federal 

13 Government should use innovative financial 

14 tools— 

15 (i) to increase domestic critical mate16 rials processing capacity; 

17 (ii) to mitigate market volatility; 

18 (iii) to boost price transparency in 

19 critical materials markets; 

20 (iv) to leverage market indices in 

21 countries other than those designated as 

22 countries of risk; 

23 (v) to ensure long-term adequate sup24 plies of critical materials for the economy 

25 of the United States; and 


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1 (vi) to increase the domestic recycling 

2 of critical materials. 

3 (h) FUNDING.— 

4 (1) FINANCIAL MECHANISMS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—In establishing and car6 rying out the Pilot Program, the Secretary shall 

7 enter into agreements, including contracts, 

8 grants, and cooperative agreements, and other 

9 transactions, as determined by the Secretary, to 

10 enable the use of innovative financial tools to 

11 support domestic critical material processing 

12 projects. 

13 (B) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out sub14 paragraph (A), the Secretary may use innova15 tive financial tools, including price support such 

16 as contracts for differences, and leverage func17 tions to develop and drive critical materials 

18 processing to entities that are not entities of 

19 concern, under such terms and conditions as 

20 the Secretary determines to be necessary or ap21 propriate. 

22 (2) REINVESTMENT OF REVENUE.— 

23 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab24 lished in the Treasury of the United States a 

25 fund, to be known as the ‘‘Critical Materials 


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1 Revolving Fund’’ (referred to in this paragraph 

2 as the ‘‘Fund’’). 

3 (B) PURPOSES.—The Fund shall be avail4 able to the Secretary as a revolving fund— 

5 (i) to reinvest amounts generated 

6 from eligible projects into new critical ma7 terials processing projects under the Pilot 

8 Program; and 

9 (ii) to further enhance the objectives 

10 of the Pilot Program. 

11 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary to carry out this Act $750,000,000, to remain 

14 available until expended. 

Æ 


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